Majority of Republican Voters Support the GOP Rebels

The Republican establishment that still believes they can manage voters’ expectations to maintain the status quo may want to do a reality check. The base had high expectations of 2022, but the elections failed to meet those expectations. Many voters believe that some established Republicans placed a greater emphasis on making sure that President Trump’s candidates did not win, than winning the Senate or a larger majority in the House.

The GOP members that were elected voted to keep Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the Senate Republican Leader. McConnell, who had a RealClearPolitics average favorability score of -33%, then turned around and betrayed Republican voter by helping Democrats to pass an Omnibus package worth $1.7 trillion with 17 of his fellow Republicans.

There is no reason to be surprised at the frustrations of Republican voters. They formed the Tea Party, and they elected candidates who promised fiscal accountability. They elected a reality TV star to be their president after that failed. Yet the incumbents in Washington still don’t learn. While CNN is pleading for Republican chaos, Karl Rove lecturing the Freedom Caucus on television, the voters want change and are ready to close their pockets.

“Republican voters are furious about the failure of their party to deliver results in 2022 — especially given the disastrous mismanagement of the country by the Biden Administration and their allies in Congress. Voters believe the only way to hold the GOP accountable for its failures is to make way for new leadership,” Mark Meckler, President of Convention of States.

A new poll from his organization in partnership with the Trafalgar Group supports Meckler’s thesis. They are furious at the Republican Party’s leadership and feel that it was not effective in getting GOP candidates elected. One-third of respondents consider the groups to be somewhat effective while another third find them very ineffective. Only 8.2% believe the party and the congressional leaders were very successful during the 2022 cycle.

Related: Long Live Gridlock! I Hope We Never Get Another Speaker of the House Again!

A larger majority of respondents would like to see Ronna McDaniel, Chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), replaced. Only 5.6% want her to continue, while 73.5% want the job done. This trend is very similar to the 68% who feel the RNC was ineffective at getting Republican candidates elected to the 2022 midterm. One in three people thinks the RNC did a satisfactory job. Nearly four percent of respondents say that the party was extremely inefficient.

“Grassroots activists have known for a long time that GOP leadership in Congress and at the RNC aren’t focused on fighting for conservative principles, or even winning a majority, but rather keeping themselves in power and funding the permanent political consultant class,” Meckler.

Similar numbers indicate that Republican voters are prepared to use their wallets in order to make their point. 44% of respondents say they have less desire to give money to the Republican Party and Republican candidates in 2022. This could be due the well-publicized charge that Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell stole funds from disfavored candidates and diverted dollars to Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski who is also extremely unpopular with Republican base.

A similar number of voters also indicated their willingness to contribute to conservative grassroots organizations that are more effective in organizing than the Republican Party apparatus. 25% would prefer to give to the party. This could include people who decide to give directly to candidates that they support. One-third say they don’t know, which means there is a large segment of persuadable Republicans.

“Ultimately, we need to stop playing Washington’s game by Washington’s rules. If Americans want to fix our broken government, we need to force change in the leadership of organizations who failed to deliver results, support grassroots organizations doing real work on the ground, and reign in the power of D.C. with an Article V Convention of States,” Meckler asserted.

Anyone who has followed Donald Trump’s 2015 descent down the escalator will have seen the political realignment. Republicans will continue to ignore Obama, Obama-Obama, Trump voter, the blue collar voter, parents and freedom voters at their own peril. Recent Florida elections have shown that it is possible to reject the status quo and deliver results for those you represent. It’s possible that the GOP should also try this.